Deputies think that one of them may have given in to the need to sleep that comes with the last stages of hypothermia, while the other stayed by his side and died the same way. Hoping he could flag down the passerby, he exited his vehicle and began screaming for help. Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury: Who made the most money from their fight? They decided to drive to Chico that night to cheer on the UC Davis basketball team in an away game against Chico State. A man called Joseph Schons contacted the police after he heard about the disappearance to say he had seen the men between 11-12 pm on the Friday that the group disappeared. About Us. All five piled back into the Mercury and took off. As for getting a real answer in the case, we may never know unless someone talks or, maybe, Mathais is found. Instead, it looked abandoned. The Yuba County Five Episode aired Jan 8, 2022 YOUR RATING Rate Documentary In 1978, a Mercury Montego was found abandoned in the Plumas National Forest, and the remains of four men found 20 miles away. "They wouldn't have fled off in the wood like a bunch of quail. It was shortly before the store's 10 p.m. closing time; the clerk later remembered the men because she was annoyed that such a large group had come in and delayed her from beginning the process of closing the store for the night. Later, he clarified to police that he could not be sure of that, since at the time he was almost delirious from the pain he was in. This eventually led to him being diagnosed with schizophrenia and being psychiatrically discharged. They had set out on what should've been a quick road trip to watch their favorite basketball team in a neighboring town. About five miles from Weihers remains, the remains of Sterling & Marduga were found. The store owner corroborated her account. The Yuba County Five were a group of young men from Yuba City, California, with mild intellectual disabilities or psychiatric conditions, who attended a college basketball game at California State University, Chico, on the night of February24, 1978. The two cars stopped about 20 feet from him. The Yuba County Sheriff's Office says 44-year-old Christine Adams of Visalia was found with obvious physical trauma in a guest room at a residence in the 17000 block of Indiana Ranch Road around 8 . This team was supported by a local program for people with mental disabilities. Wikipedia, Public Domain "The Boys" Go Missing How did the group end up around a trailer 19 miles from the car? Weiher lived for, at least, eight weeks after his disappearance given his beard growth on his body. Today, we're covering the true crime story of the Yuba County 5. [2] The car was unlocked and had a window rolled down when it was found; his family indicated it was unlike him to leave the car so unsecured. Madruga and the four other able-bodied men should have been able to dislodge it without a lot of difficulty. LINDA, California A Linda mother accused of drowning her two children in a bathtub is facing murder charges, according to Yuba Superior Court. Around them, police saw nothing but rugged, dense forest, hardly an appealing option for the lightly dressed young men. It appeared that Ted had lived 8-13 weeks after his disappearance based on the length of his beard and around 100-pound weight loss. Were going to be covering a story Let's discuss the strange disappearance of the Yuba County Five. [6], In an area to the northwest of the trailer, roughly a quarter-mile (400m) from it, searchers found three Forest Service blankets and a rusted flashlight by the road. Twitter reacts. The next day, a deputy sheriff found a skull downhill from the bush, 300 feet (91m) away, confirmed by dental records later to have been Huett's. She relishes raving about her favorite shows and turning peoples drafted darlings into polished finished products. They had reached 4,400 feet (1,300m) in elevation along the road, about where the snow line was at that time of year, just short of where the road was closed for the winter. Chico to Yuba City is a straight down Highway 70 through the Central Valley in low-lying land with no snow at this time of the year. Rhoades, a long-haul trucker, converted the sleeper cab of his 18-wheel semi truck into a small, makeshift sex chamber where he would torture his victims and rape them for weeks on end. With so much food close by why wasn't he eating. Candy wrappers, milk cartons and basketball programs were in the car but maps were left in the glove compartment. No one had even bothered to cover the broken window they had smashed in to get inside. One of the crime scenes from the John Collins murder series. "He was either tricked or threatened.". The search teams nearly lost men themselves two days later, as their Snow-cats struggled through the drifts. This is a Mopac Audio podcast and is hosted by writer, producer, and podcaster Shannon McGarvey. The trailer was 19 miles away from the car. Movie Info. Jack Antone Madruga, a high school graduate, and Army veteran was laid off in November 1977 from his job as a busboy for Sunsweet Growers. Those kinds of mysteries still pervade the Yuba County Five case, as the men were known to follow patterns rather than deviate from them so drastically and right before a life-changing opportunity. The atmosphere was jubilant. In her free time, Bianca enjoys stabilizing dangling modifiers and walking her cat. To add to the mystery, a man was stopped nearby, his car was stuck in the snow. Breaking News in Yuba County is a 2021 American black comedy film directed and co-produced by Tate Taylor, from a screenplay written by Amanda Idoko.The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Allison Janney, Mila Kunis, Awkwafina, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, Juliette Lewis, Samira Wiley, Jimmi Simpson, Clifton Collins Jr., Bridget Everett, Dominic Burgess, Keong Sim, Chris Lowell, Matthew . [5] Huett's brother said Jack hated using telephones to the point that he would answer calls for Jack whenever he received any from the other men in the group. A year after their disappearance, police were no closer to solving the mystery. They found a body tucked into a bed, draped in sheets from head to toe. This week on Loose Units, Four months after the disappearance of the Yuba County Five, the thaw came. There was nothing left of him but bones. We can't visualize someone getting the upper hand on those five men, but we know it must have been." All the drama surrounding the duo. Five men went to a basketball game in Chico, California to watch their favorite college basketball team play. Ted apparently had a slow and agonizing death from starvation having lost over half his body weight. W 1978 roku grupa przyjaci pojechaa obejrze mecz koszykwki. No trace of the men was found other than the car. Jack had low I.Q. Two days later, after searchers in Snowcats nearly became lost themselves, further search efforts were called off due to continuing bad weather. Gary Mathias, 25; Bill Sterling, 29; Jack Huett, 24; Ted Weiher, 32; and Jack Madruga, 30 were all friends. These five men were great friends. He got out of his car to flag them down. The Mercury Montego was slightly stuck in the snow, but it wasnt anything five healthy young men couldnt have handled pushing out. "They might have seen it and didn't even realize they seen it.". He saw a group of men, a woman, and a baby walking together, but they ignored him calling for help. New as of February 2022, the "Yuba County Five" podcast is made up of seven episodes, each averaging about 35 minutes long. Allison Janney leads an all-star cast in the new film, "Breaking News in Yuba County.". She recalled how he and Sterling had helped someone they knew get to the hospital after overdosing on Valium. But authorities would later realize the biggest story to emerge from that dark, desolate road wasn't his brush with death. The keys to the vehicle were gone. The five young men who made up the Yuba County Five, Gary Mathias, Bill Sterling, Jack Huett, Ted Weiher, and Jack Madruga, ranged in age from mid twenties to early thirties. [2], Most puzzling to the investigators was how Weiher had come to his fate. Same when it comes to that woman and baby that Shones saw with the Yuba County 5, though Shones admitted he could have hallucinated everything. Shones said he cried for help but got no reply. 1971 Press Photo Yuba City, CA Reporters at J.L. This proved to be the last time any of them were seen . The Yuba County Five were young men from Yuba City, California, all with mild intellectual disabilities or psychiatric conditions, who attended a college basketball game at California State University, Chico on the night of February 24, 1978. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. The keys were gone and there was evidence of the boys having stopped at a convenience store for snacks. Yet only about 12 cans had been opened, and he had not bothered to turn on the propane tank, which would have provided heat for the entire trailer. Sadly, these men were able to cheer on UC Davis, but they never made it to their own basketball match. Well, the last sighting of the Yuba County 5 wasdecidedly not. The trailer was 19 miles away from the car. No one even covered the window they had smashed to get inside of the trailer. What had led them there? Ashley talks about a case that is still unsolved to this day-- the Yuba County Five, also February 24, 1978 Five friends drove 50 miles from their homes in Yuba City California to cheer ** Viewer discretion is advised. Debris recovered from the scene indicated the vehicle was a white Mercedes, and the Yuba County Sheriff's Office was able to identify the car using a license plate reader system, according to. The mother of Aaron Carter shared photographs on social media from what she claims is the death scene from the pop singer's home in November. It could not be determined how long those items had been there. However, no trace of him has ever been found. Why? 5 'Boys' Who Never Come Back. The whole case is weird. There was no news for months as the spring snows melted on the mountains. Stars Tim Donahue Michael May Dominick Sherry On Thursday, the New York District Attorney released crime scene photos showing blood spatter and the knife allegedly used by nanny Yoselyn Ortega to kill two young children in her care. Yuba County 5. Weiher was concluded to have died from a mixture of starvation and exposure, but both a heating system and food were readily available. There was no obvious damage to the car, despite the bumpy unmade road, it had around a quarter tank of gas and it was not stuck in the snow. They never returned home. To the Los Angeles Times, she said it was impossible for her to believe Madruga would ever drive his car, which he prized, into an area where it might be damaged. By. One of the first famous crime scene photos was taken on May 5, 1903, in the home of a Parisian woman named Madame Debeinche who had been murdered. From Zero to Hero: Write Your Short in 30 days, Did the Island Boys break up? Police say Brady Oestrike, 31, killed 25-year-old Charles . Police became aware that Madrugas 1969 Mercury Montego was stranded on the side of a mountain road about 50 miles away from home. When Weiher and Sterling didnt come home, their mothers began calling the parents of the others, and soon the police were involved. Well, that part is a little less clear. Why did Ted Weiher apparently starve to death? His car had gotten stuck in the snow, and pushing it out by himself brought it on. Huetts skeletonized remains were found shortly after. Huetts bones were found not long after. Gary had been on medication ever since to manage his condition, which his father said would make him go haywire if he was off of the medication. The Yuba County sheriff's office said they wouldn't resume the ground search unless new evidence came forward that indicated that the five men were still in the dense forest. And a thousand leads. Talking to Shones proved even more frustrating. In February of 1978, a group of five men went to a basketball game and didn't come home. They were always referred to by their families as the boys even though they were all full-grown men from ages 24-32. If authorities couldnt make any sense of how the group's day had ended on February 24, they at least had some idea of how it began. To date, there hasnt been any evidence to contradict him. None of the men's families could speculate as to why they might have driven up a long and winding dirt road[a] on a winter night deep into a high-elevation remote forest, without any extra clothing and on the night before a basketball game they had been discussing excitedly for several weeks. True Crime Out Loud B and Jen Coast2CoastCrime Coast2CoastCrime The Women of Death Row Mariel and Amanda True Crime & Consequences Kari & Brian Current Inside Crime with Angeline Hartmann Angeline Hartmann: Journalist and Crimefighter True Crime and Coke truecrimeandcoke Unnatural: A True Crime Podcast Emily and Andy [2] The keys were not present, suggesting at first that the car had been abandoned because it might not have been functioning properly, with the intention of returning later with help; when police hot-wired the car, the engine started immediately, and the fuel gauge indicated the gasoline tank was one quarter full. They found no sign of them, but a few days later, a Plumas National Forest ranger told investigators that he had seen the Montego parked along Oroville-Quincy Road in the forest on February 25. [2] For whatever reason, the men had left the Montego; they had, instead of going back down the road (where they had passed the lodge that Schons later returned to), continued along the road in the direction they were originally going. At 5:30p.m., about 150 feet (46m) up the road, he, too, had gotten stuck in the snow. [6], With the evidence not pointing to any clear conclusion about what happened the night the five men disappeared, police and the families were not ruling out the possibility that they had met with foul play. When you hear of the Yuba County 5, they tend to be collectively referred to as the boys by those that knew them. The boys had used Madrugas 1969 Mercury Montego to drive to the UC Davis game in Chico, California on February 24, 1978. Thats why when the late hours of the night turned into the wee hours of the morning, and none of the boys returned home, their parents started to get worried. [2][5], After that, Schons said at first, he recalled a pickup truck parking 20 feet (6m) behind him briefly, and then continuing on down the road. The Gateway Gators was a collegiate basketball team at the rehabilitation center of Yuba City, California. Selects: The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five. They werent the type to stay out very late or make spontaneous plans. In this episode, Zack tells us about a very creepy one that is available on Netflix. After the investigation details had been released, Joseph Schons came forward. What did they find Mystery True Crime und wahre Verbrechen aus DeutschlandKalifornien, Februar 1978: Am ! How did they walk in normal shoes without outdoor clothing so far in snow several feet thick? The boys parents alerted the authorities after confirming none of them made it home. Ted Weiher was employed for a while as a janitor and snack bar clerk but quit at the urging of his family, who thought Weiher's slowness was causing problems. February 24, 1978. Similarly, another shed nearby held a butane tank with a valve that, had it been opened, would have fed the trailer's heating system. All were either mildly developmentally disabled or had other severe psychiatric conditions. What puzzled them most was how Weiher was found emaciated, despite the fact that the trailer been stocked with plenty of canned and dried food and a can opener. The trailer was 19.4 miles away from where the Mercury Montego was found. But there had been no apparent attempt to start a fire despite the freezing temperature on the mountain. [3] The eventual discovery of four of the five men's bodies seemed to suggest otherwise, but raised even more questions about what had happened that night, and whether at least one of them might have been rescued. Along the way, he passed a 1969 Mercury Montego, which belonged to the Yuba County 5. They were all homebodies for the most part, but one thing they strongly bonded over was sports. It had enough gas to continue on, but a snowbank had likely caused its tires to spin out. [2], Mathias supplemented his Army disability pay by working in his stepfather's gardening business. For roughly three days, police had no break in the case, until finally a park ranger noted that he had seen a car matching the description of Madruga's on the night of the 25 th.On February 28, police located the vehicle. All five lived at home with their parents and were bound together by a love of sports. The junk food had been consumed, save for one half of a candy bar. Search and rescue teams then began combing the area around the trailer. Joseph Schons of Sacramento told police he inadvertently wound up spending the night of February 2425 near where the Montego was found. Today, Yuba City Police Department still has the investigation while the prosecution was left with the state Attorney General's office. Several months later, in June, the body of Ted Weiher was found in a trailer with missing shoes and badly frostbitten feet.